12-16-2005, 04:10 PM
I think you are on the right track...obviously, nobody really knows, but Fish Lake is much closer to the environment that perch evolved in than most of our reservoirs. I think that is the biggest key; state agencies and the feds all across the US are trying to keep things much closer to what nature intended...not just for the sake of being natural, but because our fisheries are generally better this way. I love to catch bass, lake trout, rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, and other exotic species, but these species generally disrupt balances. That is why perch sometimes stunt; that is why Yuba is constantly on a boom and bust cycle. It is also why the state works so much with trout; they do not reproduce as easily and are, therefore, much easier to control from a population standpoint. Rainbow trout will not reproduce in most of our reservoirs; a good balance between available food and fish numbers can be maintained simply by regulations and stocking. The same cannot be said about species that are able to reproduce easily--like perch and walleye...and even brook trout.
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